1. vera
An SMS/text message health-tracker for underserved demographics.
APIs/Technology Used
health.data.ny.gov DTII Prevention Tips
node.js, coffeescript
Firebase
Twilio
Datasets Used
Effect of BMI on Lifetime Risk for
Diabetes in the U.S.
Health Indicators Warehouse
Pew Internet & American Life
+ unlimited extensibility
Built for NYS Health Data Code-a-thon
By Ethan Bond, Femi King, and Raymond Jacobson

2. vera
Health-tech relies on high-tech. But low-tech
communities need it the most.
•
•
•
Accessible personal health monitoring
for underserved communities
Highly extensible platform
Utilize and contribute to open datasets
me: Vera?
!
vera: Hey there, I’m Vera. It’s a pleasure to
meet you. What’s your name? For example: ‘name:
Robert’

3. vera
vera: Ethan, I have to ask you some
questions! What’s your age in
years? For example: ‘age: 20’
vera: Good evening Ethan! Just
checking in. What did you eat today?
For example ‘foods: pizza, steak’
me: age: 19
me: foods: salad, steak, green beans
!
!
vera: Great! How tall are you in
inches? Don’t be shy! For example:
‘height: 60’
!
me: height: 69
!
vera: How much do you weigh in
pounds? For example: ‘weight: 215’
!
me: weight: 202
!
vera: Nice! Your BMI is 30 which is
obese. Together we can fix that up.
To see how, type ‘info’ and learn
what I can do. I’ll check back with
you tomorrow to get started, so
start eating healthy! Type ‘tips’
to learn how.
!
!
vera: Great! That’s a definite step
up. Keep it up and I’ll be asking for
progress in a few days!
!
!
!
!
me: get data
!
vera: It’s important to see progress
over time. For the next day,
vera.io/419583 will be available for
you to view.

4. vera
Health dashboard
www.vera.io/419583
Food group intake
Your BMI vs NY
9%
34
11%
31.5
38%
29
12%
26.5
24
April
June
August October
31%
You
Meat
Vegetables
Starches
Fruits
Dairy
NY Average

5. vera
Extensible, contributory, powerful.
•
•
•
•
•
As natural language processing gets more powerful, so do Vera’s capabilities
User-input can be more complex than text. Possibilities including eyetracking, speech records, and photographs
This can bring high-tech diagnostic power to the low-tech battlegrounds of
healthcare
Data can be anonymous to construct a massive database of metrics
Freely accessible database allows researchers to test hypotheses against
millions of self-reported anonymous data points
We’re excited!
Built for NYS Health Data Code-a-thon
By Ethan Bond, Femi King, and Raymond Jacobson